Top 10 Staging Tips From Todd McAllister

Todd McAllister, a rockstar RESA home stager, and owner of Portlands very own home staging empire OnStage shares nuggets of wisdom on occasion in our members only RESA Facebook group. We rounded up our top 10 favorites to share with you!

If you have hurricane candle holders and run out of triple wick candles, try this idea. Fill the deep hole that you put the candle in with some type of plastic… (I’m always trying to save on materials)
Then cover the bottom with small bags of polished stones (I find them at the local Dollar Tree for $1 per bag).. instead of using one candle, fill with a grouping of various sizes of candles.. (the candle grouping pictured came from IKEA for $5.99)

Painting Trick! When painting and the ring of the paint can collects paint and builds up, simply get a nail and hammer and punch small holes in the ring of the can.. the paint will drip back into the can.

Missing Lids! Have any of these hanging around? You know, the canister/ jar with the lid that is MIA or been dropped…. well, hot glue the lids on them.

Money Saving Headboard. Steal this money saving idea.. we had a lot of these old dark brown slat headboards.. we got inexpensive painters canvas, got foam core to cover up the slots then cut the canvas to size.. we used a staple gun to attach the canvas to the frame….we are able to get about 3 headboards out of each canvas…then steam out the wrinkles…..

Don’t ever be afraid to change how you do things. We often find that what we were doing was maybe not the most efficient… for example.. we used to use these Rubbermaid carts to pull accessories.. we came across these taller rolling racks with the ability to store more accessories… preventing multiple trips back and forth…

Job Organization. We’re always improving how we do things.. we are now using these stanchions our warehouse manager found.. since we have multiple jobs going out daily, this is a very visible way to separate each job to reduce confusion about what goes with what project..

Always have spring rods in your inventory.Builder: ” since this house is next to a garbage enclosure, can you put up some sheers to block the view, and not put any holes in the walls?”Me: “Yes, not a problem… I have spring rods that will hold the sheers..”

A QUICK FIX….Oops.. I forgot this is the side table with a drawer that falls out….? If you turn it upside down and simply insert a small screw into the bottom, it will act as a stop.

Another learning opportunity…..Like everyone in staging land, I get caught up in the pretty… but stop to think about the abuse our inventory takes.. sometimes the pretty gets damaged easily… #NotASmartBuy

A GREAT ANALOGY FROM TODD MCALLISTER, when you are asked why people need to stage. Not long ago I was asked by an agent what the point of staging is and why people do it? He was a non believer. I equated it to food styling.. when you go to a restaurant and look at the menu, you see all of the items that look amazing. Perfectly placed on a plate or in a bowl. Each item is dripping in sauce or gravy, and the chicken is buttery looking and juicy… it’s the magic of a food stylist and amazing photography.We all know that the items we order never actually look like the photo. But it’s the power of suggestion and photography that makes us order the item.. it’s the same with staging. Our job is to make a home look it’s absolute best for the buyer. The images they see online will get them in the door.

After I explained it to him, he then understood why staging is so very important.

The Real Estate Staging Association® (RESA®), a 501 c 6 tax-exempt organization, is the trade association for professional home stagers. RESA® is the portal to the staging industry and is the source of education and business tools focusing on the needs of stagers. RESA welcomes all stagers and redesigners regardless of their backgrounds, designation and affiliations.